"Mom?"

"I'm in the laundry room!" she replied. She was busy doing a bit of refreshing to her linens when Kendall walked in. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"I had a question."

"Shoot."

"What does love feel like?" he asked suddenly. Mrs. Knight put down the linens and turned to her son in question.

"What brought this on?"

"I don't know, just curious and confused I guess."

"Well I must say that's a difficult question to say the least. I don't know if there is a definitive answer. It's really up to the person who's feeling all these emotions to decide what he or she is feeling. Test out the waters and see if you can find the fireworks or sparks that two people in love will feel."

"Fireworks?"

"It's an old adage, it describes the feeling two people get when they kiss; it's like feeling or seeing fireworks if the kiss has any meaning between both partners."

"Oh."

"Regardless who you have feelings for, don't assume they can or will return them, sometimes its just not meant to be, don't get into something that isn't going to work, that way you'll save yourself the heartbreak." she stated. "I think the best thing you could do is just be a friend to Katie; that's something she could really use right about now." Kendall looked to his mom in shock but soon softened to an acknowledging smile, meeting her warm and reassuring embrace.

Back at the academy, Katie was nearly fully recovered, she had gotten used to moving around with all the metal in her and slowly gained more mobility and recovered her speed and agility. She was cautious at first and at times would be sore from over use but she soon overcame that. Nearly a year had passed before she heard any word about the show. There would be one more season to test the waters of popularity without Walter's presence and the show as a hole; was the show's reputation damaged due to Walter's actions?

Katie packed up her stuff and left, leaving the academy in good hands in her absence and left to LA. Katie lived in her dressing room like before for a few days before being persuaded by Kendall to bunk with his family. She felt welcomed and less stressed now that she could contribute to the household and not being waited on. Because she spent a lot of time at the Knight's residence it wasn't long before the rumors started flying and the paparazzi started snapping pictures of Katie often with Kendall or his family.

Kendall was walking through the house when he passed by Katie's room; she was sitting at her desk hard at work. She'd been fairly busy since she got here, her show had just finished shooting and Kendall figured she'd get some time off but then the interviews and photo shoots started piling in. She spent some time doing paperwork for stuff at home but he didn't know exactly what, she was fairly secretive about the academy and he didn't pry although he was curious. He knocked on her door, making her jump a little bit at the sudden intrusion.

"Hey, sorry, it's just me. I saw you hard at work and I know I probably shouldn't be bothering you but I think you could use a break."

"Tell me about it, I could use a few days to myself. Hell I'll take a couple of hours if that's all I could get."

"Well, let's take a little trip or something."

"Cant. My schedule is packed for the next few weeks, I'm going home for Christmas and I got to play catch up on all of this paperwork that I've been neglecting before I go back. I need to drop off what my agents and the executives need and have decent progress made on my own stuff for the academy."

"How about dinner? We can go out to that new fancy restaurant on Ferris Street."

"How about just going to Outback? Less formal and quicker."

"Sure which ever. I'll treat you to the dinner; just you and me."

"Ok, sounds good."

"Is tomorrow good for you?"

"Yeah it's fine."

"Cool, I'll meet you here after I get off work, we're working on the 6th album with Gustavo tomorrow. It's getting close, we're working on the cover art and all those juicy details!" he teased.

"Cant wait to hear it, I could use some new music on my play list!" she smiled. Kendall left her to her work and went on his own thing.

The next day, Kendall was running late from the studio and Gustavo wouldn't let them go, he couldn't call Katie and tell her that he was running late and he didn't want to just blurt it out to Gustavo and get everyone looking at him. He wanted to keep this low for right now; his band mates were already teasing him from the rumors flying around due to all the paparazzi photos of him and Katie hanging together. He got out 2 hours late and as soon as he got in his car he tried dialing her number but she didn't answer. He rushed home and flung open the door and ran to Katie's room. She wasn't there and he started calling for her only to be met with his mom.

"She left about a half hour ago. One of her friends stopped by and asked to hang out. She was so happy to see the girl and she grabbed her keys and left. I'm glad she got out of the house for a while, she deserved some time to herself; she's been working so hard." Mrs. Knight said

"I know. I offered to take her out to dinner tonight, just a night out of fun but I ran late and couldn't call her. She probably thinks I stood her up…" Kendall sighed

"I don't think so, she's been busy all day in her room. She hasn't gone anywhere and she was in the same clothes as she was this morning. She probably forgot anyway. Don't worry about it too much, when she gets home, talk it over and clear things up with her, that's all!" she continued.

Kendall waited much of the night for Katie to come home but she never did. He was woken up the next morning by his mom; he had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Katie to come home.

"Honey, did you sleep here all night?"

"Huh…? Oh…I guess…" he said slowly, a little groggy.

"What were you doing, watching a movie?" she asked

"No, I was waiting for Katie. I wanted to talk to her as soon as she got in. I must have dozed off as it got later. Is she still sleeping?" Kendall asked

"No, she's not here. She called me last night and told me that she was sleeping over at Jess's house. She'd be back as soon as she woke up. She's just coming to grab her bag and then heading to the studio all day for promo shoots. She wont be back until late again." she explained

"Darn. Oh well, I'll catch her soon enough I guess. Maybe I'll just text her so when she's on break she can respond when she can." he sighed.

He did just that as he walked to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before he had to head out as well. He got back before her and waited again but was tired from the lack of sleep he had gotten the night before and soon gave in to his heavy eyelids and carried himself to bed. He was frustrated that he hadn't had a chance to talk to Katie all day and time was running out; in a few days she'd be leaving for home and she was going to be busy up until then.

He had gotten used to the fact that they didn't see each other often at all, they would either text during breaks or Mrs. Knight would carry the messages between them. It was common place in a house full of celebrities. Kendall's older brother and younger sister were both actors, although his brother was in his late 30's now and starting his own family. His sister turned 18 and moved in with her boyfriend in Los Vegas while she took some college classes on and off but ultimately became a model. Kendall was the only one who stayed in LA but he had a nice career going for him that showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. He'd give it up eventually but not now, BTR was at the peak of their fame and only getting stronger by the day, no sense in giving it up now.

He woke up the next morning and checked his phone but still had no messages from Katie. He figured she was mad at him, surely she would have gotten his messages by now. He gave up for the time being, a bit depressed about the whole thing and even lost his appetite. His mom had already left for her job and Kendall was alone. He trudged out the door with a depressed sign and drove off. His heart really wasn't into all the rehearsals and Gustavo really let him have it and too his surprise, Kendall didn't fight back. Something was clearly the matter but Kendall shrugged it off, apologizing to his friends and trying to find enough pep to get him through the day.

When all was said and done, Gustavo dismissing them early, sick of Kendall's lack luster attitude, Kendall shrugged off his friends and drove away. The others stood watching him fly down the lot and couldn't help but wonder what was up with him. He wasn't himself all day but he didn't want to talk about it; they brainstormed what might be bothering him and figured it was just time for a vacation. They could all use one and were starting to burn out and Kendall was no exception, although usually he was the last one to get this bad.

Kendall pulled into his driveway and saw Katie's car sitting in her spot off to the side. He jumped out and sprinted to the door, hopes high. He flung open the door and ran right past his mom to Katie's room where she was quietly packing. She didn't hear him come flying up the stairs and when he just swung around the corner and into her room, yelling her name she screamed, dropping her things to the floor.

"Jesus Christ, Kendall! You nearly gave me a hear attack!" she called out. "What the heck is going on?"

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past 2 days! I thought you were made at me for being late when I was going to take you out to dinner. I wanted a chance to apologize, a chance to talk but you never responded."

"Really? Sorry about that I had no idea. My phone was stolen and then when it was recovered it was destroyed. I'm waiting to get a new one once I go back home, I'd rather keep the number registered back home to keep it out of the public eye. As for dinner, I didn't really hold you to it. I mean it was a nice thought but I didn't think you meant it."

"Why would you think that?"

"No one's been that nice to me. Ever."

"But I meant it."

"Still, it's hard to trust people in general after you've been lied to. Don't take it personally, it's nothing against you at all. It's just that…I have a long history behind me, more so then the death threats from Walter; that was only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. I'd really rather no get into, I'd be going down the same road that I don't need to be."

"You can tell me anything."

"Not this. Kendall, you're a nice guy, nicer than I could ever imagine but I'm just too damaged to hold a normal relationship of any kind. Maybe someday I could tell you and you'd understand but not now."

"Fair enough. Just know that whenever you're ready, I'm just a phone call away. Until you come back that is; this room will always be waiting for you. I want you to trust me; I like you, a lot actually. You're a cool girl and I'm just sorry I didn't see it sooner."

"Thanks, those words mean a lot…"

"But you cant trust them?"

"…No…" she said shying away. Her eyes started to water and she tried to hide it. Kendall came over and lay a hand on her shoulder before giving her a hug.

"It's ok. Take all the time you need. I'm here and I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for you to realize that." he assured.

He rested his chin on her head and held her tight. She soon hugged him back hard and cried into his chest, letting out all the pain she had been bottling up for so long. She was showing her weaknesses and was scared about it all, she was at her lowest point now and didn't want to face it. She wanted to cling to him as long as she could, thinking that he would leave, just like everyone else, now that he saw so much pain and damage that she had.